Sights from around town.

I went for a walk this morning and took pictures as I went. Some of the results follow. They're not great, but I thought they were moderately interesting. I want a better camera. And maybe a more artistic eye. Oh well.

Sharpless St Parking Garage 

Some garage on Union St. 

I don't know either. 

From the playground across the street. 

These are randomly growing on the lawn. 

Pez. That is all.

Tonight at dinner, we somehow got onto the topic of Pez. I'm not entirely sure how this came about, but we started to compare how we ate Pez (Katie and I: all in one shot, Andrea: more slowly and deliberately). And which Pez flavor was the best. (The sour ones? No, it's like your candy's gone bad!)

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Pez when I was a kid. But it seems that for some people, collecting Pez dispensers is an obsession. Frankly, this kinda creeps me out. I mean, why are full grown people spending time and effort on collecting some random, mass produced chunks of plastic? Are you aware that there is a Pez convention? Surely there are better things one could do with one's time and money.

There are all kinds of different Pez dispensers, too. With all those weird disembodied heads. I always felt a little bit like I was breaking their necks in some horrible way when I was a kid. Exposing their trachea or something. Maybe that's why I'd just down the candy without actually putting it into the dispenser. I think Pez wins the award for the creepiest candy. If I find a worse one, I'll be sure to provide an update.

Things you don't see often enough.

I stumbled upon this website. I like what these people are working for. They are trying to educate people and prevent domestic violence against straight men, gay men, lesbians, teens, and the elderly. Mostly you only hear about violence against women in heterosexual relationships, but a lot more people are victimized by this kind of thing.

This site helps to make up for the people who make things like this shirt.

Living Conditions

I don't want this to become one of those blogs that is strictly about politcial ranting. So instead, I'm going to write today about things affecting my life. Such as my apartment.

My apartment is a sad little hole in the wall, occupied by myself, my guinea pig, and occasionally a herd of fruit flies. Generally, it's not a terrible place to live. It is overpriced, but being right across the street from campus comes at a premium, I suppose.

The thing that annoys me most about my apartment is that the new management has decided to make all sorts of improvements to it. Now, you'd think this would be a good thing, and I guess it will be in the long run, but in the meantime, there are all these people buzzing around. And they're more annoying than the fruit flies. There are maintenance people spackling in the hallway, a bunch of Mexicans doing the landscaping, and the pointy-haired boss is often walking around. All of this makes for a rather annoying racket, especially when this flurry of activity begins at about 8am.

Nevertheless, it's nice not have a roommate. I can decorate the way I like, go to bed and wake up when I want, and not have to be nice to anyone twenty-four hours a day. I mean, not that I'm not always nice and whatnot...but you know. I hate having to be nice when secretly I'm thinking of stabbing someone. Not that I would. But you know.

Coffee Talk

Attention coffee addicts: You may be the unwitting victim of liberal propaganda. Your morning Starbucks latte may be poisoned with such ideas as environmentalism and reducing the national debt. Quelle horreur!

Evidently, the latest Starbucks campaign is pissing off conservatives to an extreme, according to this article. I find this amusing. You see, the company has been putting quotes on the side of their coffee cups, and admittedly, these quotes have a bit of a left-ward slant to them. (The last time we were sipping our cafe mochas, Katie and I were remarking that we liked them. Not surprising, really.) However, conservatives have been up in arms over these stupid coffee cups for not including more conservative quotes. I say, however, if you don't like the quotes, don't read them, and if they really piss you off, get your coffee somewhere else! People need to calm down and have some dip. Maybe they should cut down on their caffeine intake. Meh.

On being Catholic

Today being Good Friday, I thought it was a perfect time to reflect on how exactly I got to this point in my life. I mean, having been raised Jewish, I hardly expected myself to ever embrace the suffering of Jesus. I mean, Jesus was just some guy. And honestly, for most of my teenage years, I couldn't stand most of his followers (though I suppose that was, in part, because many of them weren't actually following his teachings...).

Most of my friends were Catholic when I was growing up, and while I accepted that they were always running off to CCD or Mass and whatnot, I honestly did not think much about what they were doing there or what they believed. I didn't know what was up the the pope. But then it was sophomore year of college. It was the first Sunday of the school year, I was at a new school, and I had no idea what I was going to do with myself. Out of nowhere, the idea dawns on me to go to Mass. And although I couldn't tell you what the content of that Mass was, I was so taken with it, that I decided to investigate further. Something had spoken to me that evening. Christianity suddenly wasn't some lofty, ridiculous story, but instead was based on events that had personal relevance to me. I was reconciled with God because suddenly I realized that He actually did care about me. God not only existed, but was personally involved in the goings-on of the world. Including someone as insignificant as me.


The more I learned about God, the more I was amazed. I came to accept and embrace the Eucharist. There was the body and blood of Christ, this person who had died for the sins of the world. My first Communion was one of the coolest moments of my life. I still love going to Mass and experiencing the awesome power of God. But I see God everywhere now, too. Even in the bad days, the hard times. He's there. And that's what is so amazing.

Sick or Healthy? (Visual Aid for Previous Post)

Pissed off rant, number one

So one of the things that pisses me off most about the good old internets is sites that encourage eating disorders. This riles me up almost more than anything else. I just can't believe people (young girls, older women, men) would want to have an eating disorder! The thing is, I really know what it's like to have one. I know what it's like to spend months in a hospital. I just don't understand why on earth anyone would want to put herself through that hell. It's not worth it. I look at all the people that I hurt, including myself, and I just don't understand why anyone would want to inflict that kind of suffering on someone else.

Eating disorders aren't cool, friends. They're painful, stupid, and deadly.

I am sitting here, at my highest weight ever, eating my Kix with rice milk, and thinking, it's awfully good to be alive.

At it yet again!

Yes, I do think it's time to start this again. Not that anyone will care much what I have to say, but if I can keep myself amused, it's all good.

I spent most of the day in physiology lab. We did a lab on respiration, in which I did not participate, as it probably would have induced some kind of hideous panic attack in me. I don't like hyperventilating. Meh. We also got into a discussion about Terri Schiavo. I don't think being brain damaged is reason to allow someone to starve to death. Remember friends, she's not in a coma. Criminals get treated better.

In any case. It's almost time for tea, and then off for some therapy.